This domestic suspense book by Laura Dave was such an easy read. The way she writes dialogue is so realistic and intriguing. The story starts with Hannah getting a note from her husband, Owen, that says “Protect her”. She doesn’t understand why she’s getting this note, but she does know who it is referring to; Owen’s teenage daughter, Bailey. Bailey and Hannah do not have to best relationship. Bailey has been living alone with her dad for almost her whole life and was not ready to share him with Hannah when they married one year ago. Hannah also receives a note from her father and $600,000 in cash. Hannah knows that the business Owen works for is in trouble, but she doesn’t understand why he ran away with no explanation. When the FBI and Us Marshals contact her, she finds out that Owen has a very different past than what he told her. Hannah and Bailey travel to Texas to find answers as to who Owen truly is and along the way, they grow closer to each other.
This story had me hooked from the beginning. I was anxious to see who Owen really was, but I was just as invested in Hannah and Bailey’s relationship as well.
While I wasn’t completely satisfied with the conclusion, I did love the mother daughter bond that formed between the two women. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves drama and mystery!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for gifting me an ARC of this novel.

I liked this one a lot more than I expected to.

One day, Owen Michaels disappears, leaving behind only a note for his wife saying "Protect her" and a duffel bag full of cash. The note can only mean one person, Owen's daughter, Bailey. Hannah, Owen's wife, must set off on a journey to find out the truth of what happened to Owen.

This was a quick, fast-paced read for me. I finished it within a day. The author does a fantastic job of pulling us into Hannah, Owen, and Bailey's world and making us really feel for and understand the characters. Bailey is a 16-year-old girl who isn't happy with Hannah invading her and her father's life, something I'm sure so many can relate to. Hannah is trying her best to win Bailey's love and trust, something much easier said than done. The suspense aspect of the novel was good and kept me interested enough to plow through within hours. The ending was good and left my heart feeling full and empty, all at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Don’t Ask a Question You Don’t Want the Answer To.”

The Last Thing He Told Me is a mystery/domestic suspense about a man living a lie and his wife and daughter who struggle to discover who he really is

When Hannah Hall receives a note from her husband stating nothing more than “Protect her,” one random afternoon, her whole world shatters. Her husband Owen has disappeared without a trace, and she soon learns that he was not the man she thought he was. Charged with taking care of her contentious stepdaughter, Bailey, she and Bailey slowly begin to investigate Owen leading them to danger and a startling revelation.

This was my first Laura Dave book, and she hooked me right from the start. Her writing style, the characters, the plot, and the pacing felt authentic. Hannah narrates events in the present moment, but we also get flashbacks to her marriage to Owen. It helped that Hannah doesn’t feel sorry for herself. Her emotions are subtle, real, and honest.

While the mystery of Owen’s past is intriguing, the strength of this book lies in the characters. This is not as much about Hannah's relationship with Owen, but more about her relationship with Bailey. I didn’t love the epilogue, but it does offer some closure. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read more by Laura Dave!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

What a heart pounding story this one was! Well written, creative storyline, and love able characters!
The husband Owen disappears but leaves his wife, Hannah a note saying Protect Her. Their daughter Bailey..... Neither of them know where Owen could have gone. Later the FBI arrests Owen's boss and soon realizes Owen isn't who he says he is. Hannah and Bailey set out to discover just who Owen really is.
What they find neither of them could imagine.
This was such a well written book. I loved the characters. The writing the setting. The setting. Everything.
I honestly don't have one bad thing to say about this read.

I have loved Laura Dave since I sped through The First Husband. Her books are always hard for me to put down. This is no exception! However, it is a departure from her previous novels, which usually center around the story of a relationship. This book is similarly fast-paced but focuses more on an evolving plot line of an established couple.

Hannah's husband of just over a year mysteriously disappears one day, and she is left to protect her stepdaughter, as she tries to piece together what has happened. The book alternates between the present time and past moments that provide clues to assist her in her journey. Fans of her previous novels, as well as those that enjoy plot driven books with heroines you root for, will enjoy this book as well. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Another gripping, unputdownable, whirlwind, fast ride you easily attach yourself at the high tension, mysterious story! An interesting fact about this action packed, mind numbing suspense story: is it made me cry so hard when I finished the last page! Because this is also a heart wrenching love story between an introverted, unique , artsy woman who never believed true love till she meets with her husband but later she realizes she does not know anything about his true identity!

Meet Hannah, in her early forties, earning her living by carving woods, a true artist raised by her grandpa, suffering from the absence of her mom in her entire life, finally settles in her suburban life in Sausalito, married with Owen who works in tech company, trying to be a mother to his 16 years old girl Bailey even though she makes everything in her power to make things harder for her!

Her husband teases her to be absentminded. She loses everything like cellphones, sunglasses, baseball hats, socks, lightbulbs, mittens, parking ticket etc. And one day she loses her husband!

Wait! She doesn’t lose him! He just sends her a note via 12 years old girl who bumped into his daughter’s school. The note says: “Protect her!” Protect who? From whom? What’s going on? Why the hell her husband doesn’t open his phone?

On the news she finds out FBI arrested Owen’s boss because of scandalous tech scheme! Is his husband involved with the scheme? He was stressed because of the work lately.

And why FBI is sniffing around their house and why U. S. Marshall from Texas insists to help her even though this case is out of his jurisdiction!

And after calling his ex to defend her as their family lawyer, the investigator her ex hired finds out the ugly truth: her husband’s name is not Owen! He was not graduated from Princeton! He was not from Massachusetts!

Who was her husband? Who was after him? Was it about the company’s fall out or was it something shadier than that which would force them to run away throughout their entire lives?

It was fast pacing, engaging reading I devoured in a few hours! The writing style was riveting! Bailey and Hannah is survival quest, chasing the truth, defining their own dysfunctional step mother-daughter relationship were most powerful elements of the book. And thankfully the story wrapped up satisfyingly.

This one is of my best, exciting, intense thriller reads of the year earned my four heart pounding, saddened, doing everything to protect your child stars!

I heard so many great things about author’s previous works which I already added a few of them including Eight Hundred Grapes on my chubby tbr.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you to Laura Dave, Net Galley, and Simon & as hustler for sharing this wime in exchange for my honest review.

This book hooked me right from the start. I mean the suspense was killing me that I had to finish it in one sitting! I needed to know what Owen did and how everything was going to end for Bailey and Hannah.

... except as I was pretty disappointed that it lost me half way through. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the character development and relationship between Bailey and Hannah as they maneuver through the secrets Owen kept.

This newest book by Laura Dave was pretty good and had me guessing all the way until the end how it was going to end. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending but I did enjoy the characters in the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published May 2021.

Laura Dave is an auto-read author for me and I love the new direction her writing went in to with The Last Thing He Told Me. I devoured this book because I was hooked from the first few pages and I could not wait to see what was going to happen.

Told in present day and flashbacks, Hannah and her step daughter Bailey are trying to piece together why her husband Owen disappeared as the company he works for is in trouble with the FBI and why he left Hannah a note that asks her to protect Bailey. As Hannah and Bailey start to follow small clues for something that happened years ago, they learn that Owen and the life they know might not be all it seems.

The suspense and action in this book doesn't let up and you won't want to put it down. While all of the twists and turns in the book are great, it is also a heartbreaking story as Hannah and Bailey learn things about the person that they love and figure out what happens next in their lives with the information they discover. Laura Dave wrote Hannah and Bailey as such strong characters and I loved how their relationship evolved throughout the book.

The Last Thing He Told Me follows Hannah and Bailey as they pick up the pieces left for them by the most important person in their lives, Owen. Hannah and Bailey learn that Owen is not the father and husband he has led them to believe and they must put the pieces together to keep themselves safe. The Last Thing He Told Me is well written and the pages turn very quickly. The characters were well written and the love a parent has for their child is evident throughout. The only issue I really have is the resolution of the story was lacking.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Rating 4 ⭐️

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME
BY LAURA DAVE

The writing of this mystery that is definitely a slow burn of contemporary fiction was well above average. This is the first time I have read anything by Laura Dave and I like her writing style. Her narrative flows smoothly and I have to say that her writing has a relaxing affect on me that drew me in. The way she introduces Hannah's missing husband Owen is to gently recollect Owen and Hannah before he mysteriously disappeared which is at the opening lines of the novel. Hannah moved out to California to move in with Owen and his daughter, Bailey whom is a teenager. Hannah left New York to build a life with Owen and his daughter from New York. She has her own business making furniture and he worked for a Software Company.

At the beginning the way Hannah discovers Owen is missing is when a young girl knocks on their door with a cryptic note asking her two words: Protect Her. Then she gets a visit from a United States Marshall who is nice to her while at the same time asking about Owen's whereabouts, which Hannah has no idea. It is completely shocking to her that her husband has just disappeared. His daughter is suddenly in possession of more than $600,000.00 left in a duffel bag which Hannah hides under her kitchen sink. The Marshall does give her good advice not to talk to anybody without a lawyer. She contacts her old boyfriend Jake in New York after a not so friendly visit from two agents from the FBI question her so Jake acting in capacity as her lawyer does some digging with his private investigator.

Jake gives Hannah some bewildering news about Owen. According to the dates she has given him Owen doesn't exist. Why would her husband disappear leaving his only daughter? His best friend is hostile towards Hannah but admits that Owen didn't take all of his money and invest it in Owen's company like he led his wife to believe. He does admit that Owen was under a lot of stress to develop the software that shares have been sold.

I really liked Hannah and the way she handled herself. I was also impressed how kind she was to Owen's daughter. This mystery had a way of lulling me into the story wanting to know what happened to Owen. This kept me engaged and before I realized it I had enjoyed the narrative so well I was sad when the novel ended. I wouldn't classify this as a thriller in the least. That is the wrong genre for this novel. It read like good literary fiction that is contemporary. I really enjoyed this and would read Laura Dave's other work both past and future.

Publication Date: May 4, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Laura Dave and Simon & Schuster for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLastThingHeToldMe #LauraDave #Simon&Schuster #NetGalley

This book had an interesting start. Hannah gets a visit from a young student with a note from her husband, Owen. All it says is “protect her.” Hannah assumes it means her difficult, sixteen-year-old stepdaughter, Bailey, but doesn’t understand why her beloved husband of two years would send her this note. She sits up most of the night waiting for him, but he doesn’t come home. The next thing she knows she and Bailey are thrown into the middle of a maelstrom concerning Owen, the company he works for and a major fraud investigation. Owen has disappeared leaving her in charge of his daughter who despises her.

What follows is learning that the husband she loves is not the man she thought he was. Fed up with the FBI and the US Marshals, she and Bailey embark on their own investigation leading them into danger and discoveries maybe better left buried.

This story is very character driven and I was hooked from almost the start. In fact, I read this book in one sitting. I would classify this as a mystery/ suspense and the ending left me with a tear in my eye. I gave it four stars and look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

The plot of this new novel made me think of WHERE'S WALDO? This Waldo is a man married to Hannah Hall who designs wood as furniture pieces that are unique and very expensive. She met this attractive guy named Owen through a friend, and they settled into a satisfying life with Owen's teenage daughter, Bailey (cue moody, disgruntled teenage character). When Owen disappears, the story turns into a super-thriller with Hannah and Bailey doing all they can to find the guy they both love and need.


Owen could be in a thousand places. Hannah wasn't always sure she wanted to find him. Who marries and then leaves the wife with a step-daughter who doesn't like her stepmother? I enjoyed this twisty novel that went from an idyllic setting on a houseboat in Sausalito to less ideal locales with characters that were hard to trust and some who were easy to fear. Hannah forced to make decisions showed her impressive level of intelligence and imagination. This book was a good thriller.



Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it was really clever and original. I think character development was on point, and I liked going back and forth in time. The writing was very well done. I was sad at the end, but not disappointed.

DESCRIPTION:
From internationally bestselling author Laura Dave comes a riveting new suspense novel about a woman’s search for the truth about her husband’s disappearance—no matter the cost.

We all have stories we never tell.

Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.

As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.

Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.

With its breakneck pacing, dazzling plot twists, and unforgettable characters, The Last Thing He Told Me is bestselling author Laura Dave’s finest novel yet, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn. This propulsive thriller with a heart is for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes.

WHAT DID I THINK?
I seem to have a theme going on here. Lately, I’ve been reading books that toggle between the present and the past. I absolutely LOVE that format. This is fast-paced mystery that sucks you in from the beginning. I had to know what happened to Owen, what he did (if anything), and would there be a happy ending. I liked the story line between Hannah and Bailey as they figured out a way to work together despite a fairly new relationship as step-daughter & step-mom. There were twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a captivating read and one that will keep you guessing!

Thank you #netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Hannah is married to Owen and she has a stepdaughter named Bailey, Bailey can be quite difficult as most teenagers have the same struggles. Hannah would love to bond with Bailey but she hasn't been successful yet. One day, Owen goes missing and she and Bailey must come together to figure out what has happened to him. They embark on this investigative journey together and we see this relationship between the two of them evolve.

This book is more of an investigative journey rather than a thriller. It has many twists and turns with respect to uncovered information about Owen. I feel that the story took a while to get moving but when it does, it takes off. I have always enjoyed Laura Dave's books and this one does not disappoint.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC. I appreciate being able to give a review on this book.

Nearly gave this five stars. It was a very quick read which kept me turning the pages and I ended up finishing it in one day. A husband and father go missing. His second wife and daughter try to find him before the FBI does. What secrets is he hiding? The mystery takes them to Austin and they soon realize not everyone is good or bad and not everyone is out to help them. The end was slightly disappointing but still a very enjoyable read.

The Last Thing He Told Me was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and it did not disappoint! I am definitely ordering myself a copy to have on my shelves.

I would categorize this as more of a domestic suspense / mystery?, not really a thriller. The story was super character driven and was kind of slow burning which is why it wasn't all that "thrilling" but still kept my interest. I really loved the writing style, short chapters and multiple timelines that were easy to follow. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but overall, a story that I could not put down! I have seen that this is already being adapted to a mini-series which I can't wait for!

Thank you to Netgalley, Laura Dave and Simon & Schuster for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Thing He Told Me was excellent! I love the way Laura Dave tells a story, and in this one she weaves the suspenseful present with subtle clues from protagonist Hannah's recent past, in which she met and married Owen and became a stepmother to his teenage daughter Bailey. When Owen disappears suddenly, he leaves one thing behind for Hannah. A note telling her to protect Bailey. With the FBI and US Marshals asking questions and Owen's work associates being arrested, Hannah questions everything she thought she knew about her new husband. This one was so hard to put down! Highly recommend.

Hannah’s husband disappeared and left her with many unanswered questions and one very clear instruction “Protect Her.” So she and her step-daughter set out to find the truth about why he left and where he’s gone. With many twists and turns, I enjoyed this book from start to finish. It kept me guessing and engaged through the entire story. I couldn’t put it down! I definitely recommend!